On December 17, 1939, a German warship "Count Spee" sank off the coast of Montevideo, the capital of the South American country of Uruguay. 67 years later, in 2006, a salvage team discovered the shipwreck, and then a swastika "eagle" on the stern was salvaged from deep in the estuary.
On June 16, Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pu said the 330-kilogram Nazi eagle would be melted down, while the famous Uruguayan sculptor Pablo Achugari would reshape the eagle into a dove of peace, making the eagle, once a symbol of violence, a "symbol of peace and unity."
The display of swastikas and memorabilia is often associated with the ideology of the Nazi regime and its past crimes, and is restricted or prohibited in many countries because of its historical significance. To prevent the eagle from being bought by Nazi fanatics, the Uruguayan government vetoed a sale proposal.
"In times of world division, in times of violence, in times of world war, our country sends a signal to our people and to the outside world that we are a peaceful society, we are a united society, and we practice that," the president said. ”
The two-meter-tall eagle, with a Nazi swastika on its paws, adorned the stern of "Count Spee", a battleship that participated in a naval battle in World War II.
Looking back at history, on December 17, 1939, after the Battle of the Pratt River, Hans Langsdorf, captain of the "Count Spee", scuttled the battleship, one of the largest warships of the Nazi German state.
Compared to some of the largest battleships of World War II, the 14,500-ton "Piper Piper" was well armored and armed with a 28 cm caliber gun, which was much better than many ships of the time, while the most famous German warship, the Bismarck, had a 38 cm caliber naval gun.
However, the ship was one of the first major naval losses suffered by Nazi Germany. In 1939, it clashed with three British warships at the mouth of the river, suffering dozens of blows, but at the same time it severely defeated its British Royal Navy opponents. The ship retreated to the port of Montevideo, repairing extensive damage and treating combat casualties.
But because British broadcasts claimed that reinforcements from the Royal Navy were coming, this convinced Captain Lonsdorf that leaving the mouth of the Pratt River was hopeless, and in the end he had to set fire to himself. Then, as it turned out, the British broadcast statement was a clear bluff, and from the point of view of the war, the British succeeded in this deception.
The dispute over the ownership of the object has actually been the subject of a Uruguayan court case over the years, with the salvage party and the Uruguayan government having a separate term. In 2019, a local trial court ruled that the sculpture must be sold, with half of the proceeds going to the government and half going to the salvage team. Last year, Uruguay's Supreme Court ruled that the eagle was state property.
The bronze Nazi eagle once adorned German warships, but now it turns into a pigeon and is probably the best place to belong. The dove is a symbol of peace, and a new sculpture is expected to appear this November, so let's wait and see!